La Bamba

Last week, we watched La Bamba (1987) and made a Mexican-inspired tequila-and-lime based menu. The movie was a little cheesy, and we couldn't help but think how much better a remake made nowadays would be... mostly because the actors would likely sing their own songs! There were two elements of the movie that reminded me of The Fighter: an older brother who tries to outshine a younger brother's talent and a mother-turned-manager who's in over her head.

Some alternate food ideas appropriate to the movie: apricots, Miller High Life, home-made tortillas, coffee, breakfast, diner burgers, and freshly skinned rattlesnake (for the daring).

For us, to start things off: chips and salsa. We tried Garden of Eatin' everything flavored tortilla chips which were quite tasty, especially for being "healthy". (So good, in fact, that I may or may not have finished off that bag within the next day.)

Next, because neither of us had ever made one for real, we made margaritas without store-bought sour mix. They were very easy and to my surprise, I didn't need any extra sugar to make it taste delicious. Looking forward to making several more of these as the days get warmer--and what a pretty tequila bottle I was able to find!

MARGARITA (makes 1 pint-glass sized drink)

Ingredients:

5 oz 100% agave blanco tequila

2 oz triple sec

1 oz fresh lime juice

lime wedges, for serving

Directions:

Shake all ingredients with ice. Serve with lime wedge, on the rocks with or without a salted rim.

Dinner was a combo of recipes that we modified. Tequila Lime Shrimp was very citrusy, light, and tasty. I might add even more vegetables, in addition to the bell pepper, to the mix next time.

The Mexican Black Beans and Sweet Potatoes were a little dry, we tried it with dried beans that had soaked overnight and were then cooked (probably a bit too long--they started to break down!). The avocado is a MUST in this recipe--totally made the dish. Sour cream or a bit more olive oil/lime juice would probably have amped it up a bit.

TEQUILA LIME SHRIMP (adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chopped shallots (about 2 medium)

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1/4 cup tequila

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp cumin

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/2 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined

12 green onions, thinly sliced (white and pale green parts only; about 1 1/2 cups)

1 red bell pepper, diced

lime wedges for serving

Directions:

Make marinade: Whisk first 5 ingredients in a small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in 1/3 cup olive oil. Season marinade to taste with salt and pepper.

Place shrimp in large resealable plastic bag with marinade. Chill at least 30 minutes, up to 1 hour.

Remove shrimp from marinade and pour marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, set aside. To a hot skillet, add shrimp, green onions, and bell pepper. Sauté until shrimp are almost opaque in center, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Add boiled marinade. Simmer until shrimp is just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with lime wedges.

MEXICAN BLACK BEANS AND SWEET POTATOES (from this recipe)

Ingredients:

For the roasted potatoes:

2 cups peeled and diced sweet potato (about 1 large or 2 small)

2 TB olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper

For the beans:

2 TB olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

3 cups cooked black beans

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 lime

1 avocado, cubed or sliced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Toss the diced sweet potatoes in 2 TB of olive oil with cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 20–25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes have softened.

While the potatoes are cooking, heat the remaining 2 TB of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add to it the garlic and cook until it just begins to turn golden brown. Toss in the jalapeño and beans. Cook until the beans are heated through, then turn off the heat.

Once the potatoes are out of the oven, add them to the bean mixture along with the cilantro and gently stir everything together. Squeeze the lime over everything. Serve garnished with avocado or any other topping you wish.

Caramel

Wednesday, May 11, we watched the Lebanese foreign film Caramel and make ourselves a fresh hummus, tabbouleh, and baba ghanouj platter with whole wheat lavash.

The film was a lovely story set in a Lebanese beauty salon where a few women share glimpses into their relationships with each other and the men in their lives. It gave some insight into the zeitgeist of modern Lebanon; what modern life is like for these women and how much, or little rather, then can express their sexuality given the governmental and social conventions of the country.

HUMMUS
Ingredients:
2 cups drained, well-cooked or canned chickpeas, liquid reserved
1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon ground cumin OR paprika, plus some for garnish
Juice of one lemon

Directions:
Put everything in a food processor (we used a blender, but a processor would be better!) and begin to process; add the chickpea liquid or water as needed to allow the machine to produce a smooth puree.

Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve, drizzled with a little olive oil.

TABBOULEH
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fine bulgur
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup boiling-hot water
2 cups finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup finely chopped mint
2 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 seedless cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
Juice of one lemon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Stir together bulgur and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over, then cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand 15 minutes. Drain in a sieve, pressing on bulgur to remove any excess liquid.
Transfer bulgur to a bowl and toss with remaining ingredients, including 2 tablespoons oil, until combined well.

BABA GHANOUJ:
Ingredients:
2, 1-pound eggplants, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup tahini
Juice of one lemon
1 garlic clove, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously oil rimmed baking sheet. Place eggplant halves, cut side down, on sheet. Using spoon, scoop out pulp from eggplant into strainer set over bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, allowing excess liquid to drain from eggplant.
Transfer eggplant pulp to processor. Add 1/4 cup oil, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic; process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

All THREE of these were so yummy we couldn't decide on a favorite. I would suggest making all three to serve at your next party-just be sure to start the baba ghanouj first as it takes the longest time to make.

oh yeah, and we had a very YUMMY snack too!

of course, we also had to end the night with a sweet: vanilla gelato with CARAMEL sauce!

The Fighter/"Making Weight" Teriyaki Chicken

This week, Lindsey and I (along with another co-worker, Gabby) are doing a detox. Needless to say, it had a big impact on our movie night vibe. No snacks, no beer, no dessert... Thankfully we will be back to normal next week!

I still think our dinner recipe was a keeper--very juicy, sweet and fresh tasting with the cilantro and scallion topping. And honestly, the detox has been great. It feels restrictive but in a good way, you're still able to eat real food (chicken, salmon, salad, oatmeal, plus protein- and probiotics-packed smoothies) and it has even made me a bit reluctant to dive right back into my previous eating/drinking habits. I won't lie, a cup of coffee with cream and sugar to kick off the weekend tomorrow morning is going to be wonderful!

The Fighter was a great movie--chosen mostly because I had it at home already--but it complemented our restrictive diet quite nicely! I think I was one of the only people who didn't see it in the theater, so I was glad to finally see the two Oscar-winning performances by Christian Bale and Melissa Leo. I cannot get over how perfectly Christian Bale was able to nail the personality of the real-life Dicky Ekhart, who you get a glimpse of at the beginning of the credits. WOW. Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams also gave great performances, they simply weren't outrageous personalities and got somewhat shadowed by the eccentricities of the mother/son duo.

"Making Weight" Teriyaki Chicken

slightly adapted from the GOOP detox

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

2/3 cup honey

2 tsp freshly grated ginger

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp mirin

2 TB water

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 finely chopped scallions

8 sprigs cilantro, roughly chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Make the sauce. Combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, ginger and pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook for ten minutes. Cool and add mirin and water.

Reserve 1/3 of the sauce for serving. Place the chicken in a ziploc bag along with the remaining sauce and marinate at least one hour or up to overnight.

When ready to prepare, heat a grill pan over medium heat and grill chicken about 5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Serve with the reserved sauce, cilantro and scallions.